EurekAlert! News by Subject: Medicine & Health - News by Subject: Medicine & Health

Medicine & Health

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 15-Aug-2025 08:10 ET (15-Aug-2025 12:10 GMT/UTC)

2-Jun-2025

Study: Tech can empower home care workers, not just surveil them

Cornell University
Reports and Proceedings

Employers often use workplace tracking apps to monitor frontline home health care workers, such as personal care aides, home health aides and certified nursing assistants. A team of Cornell researchers is exploring how these technologies can be used not to surveil workers, but to help them build solidarity and improve their working conditions.

2-Jun-2025

New data shows MMR vaccination rate decline across US

Johns Hopkins University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A new county-level dataset from Johns Hopkins University researchers reveals a national decline in the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccination rate among U.S. children since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Out of 2,066 studied counties, 1,614 counties, 78%, reported drops in vaccinations and the average county-level vaccination rate fell 93.92% pre-pandemic to 91.26% post-pandemic—an average decline of 2.67%, moving further away from the 95% herd immunity threshold to predict or limit the spread of measles.

Journal: JAMA

2-Jun-2025

Trends in county-level MMR vaccination coverage in children in the United States

JAMA Network
Peer-Reviewed Publication

About The Study: This county-level dataset complements the state and national-level Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data, confirming a widespread decline in measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccination rates in the U.S. after the COVID-19 pandemic while revealing significant heterogeneity in vaccination patterns within and across states. This dataset can be used in spatial and statistical analyses to identify factors associated with low or declining MMR rates in U.S. counties and help inform targeted vaccination strategies to reduce the risk of measles outbreaks.

Journal: JAMA

2-Jun-2025

Pre-operative THP leads to a pCR in two-thirds of early-stage HER2+ ER- breast cancer patients

ECOG-ACRIN Cancer Research Group
Reports and Proceedings

Patients with early-stage HER2+ breast cancer typically receive pre-operative multi-agent chemotherapy and anti-HER2 antibodies, followed by surgery and possibly more chemotherapy. The CompassHER2 pCR trial is evaluating a less intensive, reduced chemotherapy approach, the first large-scale study of its kind, but more follow-up is needed to assess its impact on survival. Meanwhile, researchers are reporting rates of pathologic complete response (pCR) at time of surgery, detailing which patients are most likely to benefit from the new approach.

Funder: Breast Cancer Research Foundation, Susan G. Komen

2-Jun-2025

E-cigarette warnings lower vaping interest and raise quit intentions

University of North Carolina Health Care
Peer-Reviewed Publication

E-cigarette warnings, especially those highlighting health harms, effectively discourage vaping without causing unintended consequences like increased cigarette smoking, according to a meta-analysis of 24 studies by University of North Carolina Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center researchers and their colleagues.

Journal: JAMA Internal Medicine
Funder: Center for Tobacco Products

2-Jun-2025

Record high: Study finds growing cannabis use among older adults

New York University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Marijuana use among older adults in the US has reached a new high, with 7 percent of adults aged 65 and over who report using it in the past month, according to an analysis led by researchers with the Center for Drug Use and HIV/HCV Research (CDUHR) at the NYU School of Global Public Health.

Journal: JAMA Internal Medicine
Funder: UC San Diego Sam and Rose Stein Institute for Research on Aging

2-Jun-2025

Trends in past-month cannabis use among older adults

JAMA Network
Peer-Reviewed Publication

About The Study: Between 2021 and 2023, prevalence of current cannabis use increased among adults age 65 or older nationally, with key demographic subgroups experiencing marked increases. Adults with the highest incomes initially had the lowest prevalence of cannabis use vs other income levels, but by 2023, they had the highest prevalence, which may indicate better access to medical cannabis given its costs.

Journal: JAMA Internal Medicine